Fixed Mobile Convergence

BlackBerry (News - Alert), a brand that once said, “I mean business,” now symbolizes what cannot be further from the truth. A recent report states that a U.S. government agency has turned down RIM, the makers of BlackBerry, in favor of something more “progressive.”

The General Services Administration is not the first major blow dealt to BlackBerry, and many will agree that the fate of this brand has been looking grim for some time. However, the rejection by a U.S. agency is sadly ironic. The brand that was once the only of its kind to be trusted by the U.S. government has even been shot down by President Obama, who has said that his BlackBerry was “not fun.”

A device that is not fun had better be safe then, right? The biggest concern shared by CEOs across the globe, is that their network’s security would be threatened if they continued to allow employees to use the device of their preference at work.

But in industries where innovation is important and employees are all tech-savvy, how is someone to tell them that there iPhone (News - Alert) is unacceptable? Also, many employees have been so passionate about their mobile devices that they would rather pay for it themselves.

Julie Palen, the SVP of Tangoe (News - Alert) who was a spokesperson at a seminar entitled, “2011: The Year Mobile IT was Born”, rationalizes a view shared by many, that network services should adjust to devices, regardless of what it is.

Because this is an age of rapid, mobile-evolution, services should be able to handle the change. Besides, she says, “RIM never got people to want to pay for the device themselves. That’s what Apple brought. And Android and Google (News - Alert) followed.”

So instead of forcing the standard, company-issued BlackBerry that many agree is “not fun,” companies have realized that their IT departments are just going to have to work a little harder. Two companies that met earlier this month, Mission Critical Wireless (News - Alert) and MobileIron, may have revolutionized the way Mobile IT is handled at work.

A recent press release states that, “MobileIron and MCW coordinate to stay abreast of new software and device releases, beta-test roadmaps, industry best practices, among other mobile updates.”    

Now, the BlackBerry is seen as “so very uncool,” by some. There is an article that actually warns business owners that BlackBerry’s will scare away the young, smart employees that they are wanting to hire. One executive suggests that the BlackBerry is heading towards extinction. Perhaps the BlackBerry Playbook OS 2.0 should hurry a little faster at making it on the market.